# Windows vs. OS X vs. Linux



## mewtini (Mar 5, 2013)

Let SPARTA begin!

Seriously, though, what d'you guys think? I'm a Linux-er, installed varying OSes on my crappy computer over five times in the past two months. :T

This computer (for school) came with Windows 7 Enterprise (I wasn't admin), but I figured out how to worm through admin rights and I got Linux. (I was first running Ubuntu Quantal [12.10], but am now using KDE Plasma on Xubuntu.)

I really think that OS X is beautiful, though, and am now considering installing Pear Linux 6, except I wanted to try it out in VMWare Player and it won't work. 

Pear Linux 5 worked, but it's nothing more than a minimally styled GNOME 3 paired with Docky.


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## kyeugh (Mar 5, 2013)

Spoiler: Ignore this









Hah, just kidding. But really, I have no clue what you said.



I find iOS to be much better looking and more accessible. I prefer it, although its missing an equivalent to Paint, which MS Paint pixel artist here does not approve of.


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## Murkrow (Mar 5, 2013)

I mainly use windows so I can play as many of the games I own as I can.

I _would_ have linux as well if it weren't for some idiotic person over at Dell who decided it was a good idea to prevent you from booting into any OS other than the one that comes with the laptop unless you don't mind your computer _not turning on at all ever again_ _*without any warning that they do this*_. My brother eventually came up with the solution of downloading an illegal version of windows to get the files that Dell's software deleted (because they decided it would be better to put the windows recovery stuff on the hard drive instead of on a CD like they used to do and which made much more sense) in order to make the computer work at all.

So yeah I'm never shopping from Dell again.


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## Zero Moment (Mar 5, 2013)

Windows because I'm a Real Gamer.


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## mewtini (Mar 5, 2013)

Mozankairu: how DARE YOU /menacing

Hah, I am a bit of a nerd computer whiz. :D You mean OS X? The absence of Paint can get irritating, I imagine, but there must be something you could download!

Rasrap: Yeaaah, I keep Windows as a dualboot, part because it's my school's image and part for compatibility. 

>:c Bad Dell. What version of Windows did you get? I don't think it's downright illegal >_>


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## ultraviolet (Mar 6, 2013)

neh, I don't really care so much about an OS as long as I can use it - majority of arts labs at uni are Macs because they're generally just better for most arts applications, especially for things like film editing. I use a windows laptop at home just because I've always used windows and it's easy, and apple products tend to be more expensive generally for what they are (because you're paying for the brand name as well as the product). The only real issue I've ever had with OSes is that my 3D software has a less stable release on OSX, so it tends to crash for no reason or do weird things when I'm at uni. 

@ Photo Finish: I literally don't know anybody who has had a good experience with Dell, they seem to be a pretty scummy brand for some reason. I usually buy samsung because they've never really failed on me and their customer service is super great in my experience! they do tend to be more expensive though.


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## Tailsy (Mar 6, 2013)

I use Windows 7 on my laptop, but my dad's desktop runs some flavour of Ubuntu (pretty sure it's Precise Pangolin?), which I use occasionally. I've never been able to get my head around using OSX or Macs (my boyfriend is an Apple person) in general, though, but I think I might just be stubborn!

Also, Dell is pretty terrible :( I have a Sony laptop myself, which I've never had problems with, but my old Dell was a nightmare.


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## sovram (Mar 6, 2013)

Dell is bad. Build your own machine!

I use Windows 7 at the moment, and I'm kind of tempted by Windows 8. I also know that, as a (mathematician U computer scientist) I need to familiarize myself with some Linux platform at some point. Suggestions? I want easy to use and stable. Doesn't have to be particularly interesting.


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## Negrek (Mar 6, 2013)

Linux all the way. I go Windows when I need to use something else, which is almost never these days. I have to use OSX for work and have never hated an OS so much in my life.

Never had any problems with Dell myself... my Dell desktop has been running without a hitch for going on eight years now, and my laptop would be doing the same if I hadn't accidentally soaked it in water for a couple of hours. As it is it still works mostly fine (and I'm typing on it right now). You do have to buy the "business class" products if you want any kind of quality, but that's true of most PC manufacturers...


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## Kyntelle (Mar 6, 2013)

I mainly like OS X. Windows is better for games, but I like OS X's interface more. Never used Linux. My family likes Windows better and thinks Macs are too expensive, though, so I have a PC at home and use the school Macs and a Chromebook for other machines.


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## Superbird (Mar 6, 2013)

I use windows currently. It works for me, I suppose, and it's certainly the single one of the three that can run the most stuff. However, I really do appreciate macs and I prefer the OS X interface to that of Windows. I've never tried Linux.


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## mewtini (Mar 6, 2013)

Negrek - finally, another Linux-friendly person!

Windows definitely runs the most stuff. For me, though, all I need is Chrome and Thunderbird (and not quite that, but I prefer TB to Gmail itself), and then GIMP.

Although, I haven't gotten Java to work right, and it isn't because of the zero-day hack. Another thing that Linux-ers better not need is the use of Shockwave Flash, because Adobe blissfully ignores Linux. The only thing you could do would be to virtualize or to use Wine, both of which are rather slow. (Says the kid using a laptop with 2GB RAM and an Intel Core 2 Duo. :P)


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## Negrek (Mar 6, 2013)

> Although, I haven't gotten Java to work right, and it isn't because of the zero-day hack. Another thing that Linux-ers better not need is the use of Shockwave Flash, because Adobe blissfully ignores Linux. The only thing you could do would be to virtualize or to use Wine, both of which are rather slow. (Says the kid using a laptop with 2GB RAM and an Intel Core 2 Duo. :P)


Indeed... I don't need either of them and despise both Oracle and Adobe, so I see those particular incompatibilities as more of a blessing than anything.


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## mewtini (Mar 6, 2013)

Yeah, but I so happen to really really need Java. For school.

On the other hand, good ol' Adobe Flash works - Youtube works...


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## Murkrow (Mar 6, 2013)

sovram said:


> Dell is bad. Build your own machine!


I'll consider that when I get around to getting a desktop, but for until I finish university I'm sticking with laptops, which I don't expect are very possible to build yourself?


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## mewtini (Mar 6, 2013)

Mohac - I'm late to notice this, but I was moreso talking about desktop OSes, not iOS. Even OS X has a bunch of differences from iOS that stem from being a computer and not a little touch thingy.

Rasrap - Eh, it's possible to build laptops! I'm thinking of doing it someday when I have several hundred dollars to spend... I think laptops are a bit less *customizable, but you stlil have your pick of a bunch of components.

*customizable isn't actually a word


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## kyeugh (Mar 6, 2013)

Customizable is a word. 
I knew what you meant. I was refereeing to the desktop, but I didn't know they had different names.  My opinion holds true.


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## Aisling (Mar 6, 2013)

I just kinda stick with the OSes that come with my computer honestly (I know I'm going to be drawn and quartered for this-- vista on desktop, windows 7 on laptop), any problems I have are never really OS-related and more to do with the hardware. T: Otherwise my computers do what I want em to do so I'd rather just not change anything, because I'm never at that much of a loss for things to do...

That and lots of games I like to play don't have/have worse Mac clients, or don't run on Linux at all. So...


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## Eifie (Mar 6, 2013)

Customisable is a word on Neopets... :c.

I use Windows, because my laptop hates GRUB or Linux or just having partitions or something idek and the people on the Kubuntu forum didn't know either so eventually I just grabbed my files off my /home and moved on. It was a wasted few weeks of my life so I have a tiny bit of a grudge.

I keep Kubuntu and OS X Lion installed in VirtualBox but I never actually use them. I've haaaated OS X ever since I was forced to take up way too much of my life working on some robot for some competition on a team of Apple fanboys, all of whom apparently thought gluing hardware bits together was way more fun than actual programming and there were a bunch of shenanigans with everyone getting ill from bad omelettes and stuff idk. So everytime I see a Mac I think of that and I'm like nooooope.


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## Noctowl (Mar 6, 2013)

I have windows 7. This computer came free with my phone though.


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## Butterfree (Mar 6, 2013)

I'm pretty much in the "whatever came with the computer" boat, which means I'm running a laptop with Vista on it. I can't stand it and hope to either upgrade to Windows 7 or replace the laptop, but haven't done so yet. I wouldn't consider Mac OS X an option, because in my one experience of trying to use a Mac seriously I found it maddeningly unable to execute simple tasks because it was so insistent that it knew better than I did what I wanted, and I pretty much swore never to use one again. Unless I had a really good reason or something.

I have an Ubuntu VM lying around as well, but haven't really used it to any degree. I've been encountering an increasing number of "oh hai this only works on Linux sorry" recently, but somehow I suspect the opposite effect if I switched would end up being worse with things I take for granted.


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## mewtini (Mar 6, 2013)

Customizable isn't a word, according to the spell-check. Customisable isn't, either. :c



			
				Butterfree said:
			
		

> I've been encountering an increasing number of "oh hai this only works on Linux sorry" recently, but somehow I suspect the opposite effect if I switched would end up being worse with things I take for granted.


Trust me, you would experience the opposite effect upon switching. :P There are a bunch of opensource alternatives, but still.


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## Minish (Mar 6, 2013)

it's a word! spellcheckers are limited. also, I use ubuntu 10.04.


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## Abwayax (Mar 7, 2013)

i use Trisquel GNU/Linux 5.5 whenever possible. It's basically ubuntu with no proprietary software or device drivers. At work I use ubuntu because I need the proprietary stuff. Occasionally I have to boot into windows to run games, because I refuse to install proprietary video drivers on my freetarded linux partition. My preferred desktop environment is xfce, because it is very memory efficient and reminiscent of gnome 2. 

i find Mac OS X to be tolerable if I can install something sane like gnome2 or xfce on it.



Mewtini said:


> Yeah, but I so happen to really really need Java. For school.
> 
> On the other hand, good ol' Adobe Flash works - Youtube works...


Does OpenJDK not work? It was my understanding that as of Java 7 they should be roughly equivalent.

As for Adobe Trash, it's actually built into Chrome. In fact, that's the only place you'll find it for Linux. They stopped developing the standalone plugin, or will stop sometime soon. Sorry, Firefox users (if there are still any of those around).


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## mewtini (Mar 7, 2013)

the hundredth member said:
			
		

> My preferred desktop environment is xfce, because it is very memory efficient and reminiscent of gnome 2.


You could just use all Ubuntu releases pre-Maverick (pre-11.04. or .10? I forget. D:) They all use GNOME 2.

For memory efficiency, you could try out LXDE, but if you like xfce, what can I say?

(Also Xubuntu uses xfce by default.)


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## Kratos Aurion (Mar 7, 2013)

Most of my computers dual-boot a later version of Windows and some flavor/remix or other of Ubuntu, with some older Windows and older Linux kicking around on other PCs around the house. My desktop is Win 8/Ubuntu 12.10, for example, while my netbook is Win 7/Mint 14. My old laptop has something like Fedora 8 on it but I never really use it. My new(er) laptop has been temporarily commandeered as the family PC due to every computer in the house that doesn't belong to me being a Frankenstein hodgepodge of POS hardware that fails all the time, and atm it's also running Windows 7, but when they get a new computer of their own and I get it back it will return to being my Linux guinea pig/backup thing running Ubuntu or Mint when it isn't a guinea pig. I've been meaning to experiment with a less weenie Linux distro next, so I'll probably dig up a roll-your-own thing that looks interesting and see how that goes. I've also used a little Kubuntu in the past but I find I don't care for the KDE desktop as much as Gnome 2 or Cinnamon or even Unity (oh shock, oh horror).

I'm not sure I have a real preference for either Windows or Ubuntu (or whatever other distro) over the other. They both have their merits as far as compatibility and options and such are concerned, and I'm equally comfortable with either—I'm not a hardcore power user or anything, but I know my way around well enough. Usually I just end up booting into one and sticking with it until some minor issue happens that pisses me off enough to boot into the other, and by the time that one pisses me off I've probably figured out how to fix the first OS and so can switch back. Or if I need a certain program for something that only works on one and will be using it frequently for a while, I guess.

I'm... pretty okay with Macs, though! They were the computer of choice in my college labs and I've had to use them plenty of times before, so while I'm not _as_ familiar with them (and boo hiss expensive etc.) I can work with them. I kind of want a Macbook and am hoping I'll be able to get one as a belated graduation gift, in part because they really are great for graphics stuff and in part because it is my secret dream to own the trifecta and become the lord and master of all the OSes. next stop FreeBSD or Solaris or the Haiku alpha or something go go go

Oh, and I've been meaning to play around a little with Chrome OS and/or Jolicloud, too, mostly out of idle curiosity. Got a nice new low-profile flash drive to run them off of live on my netbook, and if one pans out I may just go ahead and install it proper.


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## Adriane (Mar 7, 2013)

Photo Finish said:


> I mainly use windows so I can play as many of the games I own as I can.


Valve is really trying to get the Linux client up to snuff! Granted, it will take a long time for _every_ game to be ported, but hey.



> I _would_ have linux as well if it weren't for some idiotic person over at Dell who decided it was a good idea to prevent you from booting into any OS other than the one that comes with the laptop unless you don't mind your computer _not turning on at all ever again_ _*without any warning that they do this*_.


_Every_ "official" Win 8 computer does this. 



sovram said:


> Dell is bad. Build your own machine!


I had mine built by a Linux vendor!



> I use Windows 7 at the moment, and I'm kind of tempted by Windows 8. I also know that, as a (mathematician U computer scientist) I need to familiarize myself with some Linux platform at some point. Suggestions? I want easy to use and stable. Doesn't have to be particularly interesting.


Having done my fair share of distro-hopping, I am a firm believer the Ubuntu family are the "easiest" for the reasons of: a) easy OS installation (and easy partitioning), b) easy software installation (and maintenance through PPAs). The 12.x family (12.04 is long-term support, 12.10 is more bleeding edge) is actually really stable IMO, especially for Ubuntu. It's not going to Debian stable, of course, but that's because it's not Debian. Unity 5 has come a long way; if you want to try a modern (read: different) UI, try regular Ubuntu. The HUD is so very great for keyboard enthusiasts like me. Xubuntu (with the XFCE desktop) would be your best bet, I think, if you want something more traditional/less flashy but customisable. I've convinced less tech-savvy folk that it's XP.

Mint also exists, but stability issues are what always push me away. Being third wheel with a heavily tweaked and/or immature (as in age) desktop environment, it suffers in that respect.



Mewtini said:


> Yeah, but I so happen to really really need Java. For school.
> 
> On the other hand, good ol' Adobe Flash works - Youtube works...


You actually do not need Flash for YouTube if you're using an HTML5 compatible browser!



Butterfree said:


> I have an Ubuntu VM lying around as well, but haven't really used it to any degree. I've been encountering an increasing number of "oh hai this only works on Linux sorry" recently, but somehow I suspect the opposite effect if I switched would end up being worse with things I take for granted.


Have you then considered running Windows in a VM!



Adrian Malacoda said:


> i find Mac OS X to be tolerable if I can install something sane like gnome2 or xfce on it.


I didn't know that was even possible haha. All I know is everyone's Mac I've ever seen looks the exact same. (Also I'm on the "I hate OS X" boat. So so so very many usability flaws, especially for us lefties.)



> As for Adobe Trash, it's actually built into Chrome. In fact, that's the only place you'll find it for Linux. They stopped developing the standalone plugin, or will stop sometime soon. Sorry, Firefox users (if there are still any of those around).


There are plenty. I hate Chrome.



Mewtini said:


> You could just use all Ubuntu releases pre-Maverick (pre-11.04. or .10? I forget. D:) They all use GNOME 2.


I don't suggest this at all. You run the risk of broken/unsupported packages. If you *really* want GNOME 2 and don't mind old software, there is Debian.



> For memory efficiency, you could try out LXDE, but if you like xfce, what can I say?


LXDE would indeed be for memory conservation if you really need it. XFCE is much prettier, I think.


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## Butterfree (Mar 7, 2013)

Fynx said:


> Have you then considered running Windows in a VM!


Mostly it sounds like a bother; if I have both, using the one compatible with more stuff and that I'm more used to as the main seems pretty reasonable.



> There are plenty. I hate Chrome.


Same. The sentiment that ~everyone~ should be using Chrome now puzzles me; Chrome's entire design goes so poorly with every aspect of my browsing habits that it would be completely unusable as a main browser for me. I'm using it for a few sites these days because my Firefox profile keeps bugging out and making them suddenly stop working, but even then it annoys me endlessly (yes, sufficiently so that "sites suddenly stop working in ridiculous ways" pales wholly in comparison).


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## mewtini (Mar 7, 2013)

Fynx said:
			
		

> If you *really* want GNOME 2 and don't mind old software, there is Debian.


Actually, *is* there any way to install the GNOME 2 desktop on a modern thing? Or did they steal it from repos and stuff.



			
				Fynx said:
			
		

> You actually do not need Flash for YouTube if you're using an HTML5 compatible browser!


whoaaaa

I'm pretty sure Chrome is, so! I was wondering why hypothetically everyone was like "adobe hates linux" and at the same time I had flash.

I've actually never used LXDE, just seen screenshots. But I have used xfce, since I'm running Xubuntu (I just stuck KDE on it later.)

Iiiiiiiiii actually don't really like GNOME 2 - my mom and I have tried to use it (I VM'ed Lucid Lynx) and we were like "um so how do I do this?" Though I think GNOME 3 is prettier, it's for like. people who don't use tabs and task managers.

Unity is super-pretty and all, but it's rather slow :/ I made a VM of the alpha 2 release of Raring (Ubuntu 13.04), and we'll see how it goes.



			
				Fynx said:
			
		

> Mint also exists, but stability issues are what always push me away. Being third wheel with a heavily tweaked and/or immature (as in age) desktop environment, it suffers in that respect.


It is *extremely* third wheel. I like Mint, but I don't like it as much as my current setup. Also - isn't its DE GNOME 2? I'm not certain, but, well, GNOME 2 definitely isn't that young of a DE.



			
				Kratos Aurion said:
			
		

> Oh, and I've been meaning to play around a little with Chrome OS and/or Jolicloud, too, mostly out of idle curiosity. Got a nice new low-profile flash drive to run them off of live on my netbook, and if one pans out I may just go ahead and install it proper.


Eheh, when I was the first three quarters of your post about the netbook, I was about to say "oh, chromium os! oh, joli os!"



			
				Kratos Aurion said:
			
		

> in part because it is my secret dream to own the trifecta and become the lord and master of all the OSes.


wahahaha


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## hopeandjoy (Mar 8, 2013)

I use Windows because I like having access to pretty much all programs. Also, I've been using it since I was, like, 5. Despite the fact that my family's first computer was a Mac.


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## Kratos Aurion (Mar 8, 2013)

> Iiiiiiiiii actually don't really like GNOME 2 - my mom and I have tried to use it (I VM'ed Lucid Lynx) and we were like "um so how do I do this?" Though I think GNOME 3 is prettier, it's for like. people who don't use tabs and task managers.


It's definitely prettier, but a lot of people say it takes a lot more getting used to because it threw out a lot of the traditional desktop patterns they were familiar with. I was sort of confused by it when I tried it briefly, but then again I also started out with a roaring hatred of Unity (I even did a "usability evaluation" of it for a class that was mostly a thinly veiled attempt to whine about how weird it was) and I've gotten pretty comfortable with it aside from the occasional slowness; maybe it's worth another look, idk.



> It is *extremely* third wheel. I like Mint, but I don't like it as much as my current setup. Also - isn't its DE GNOME 2? I'm not certain, but, well, GNOME 2 definitely isn't that young of a DE.


One of Mint's DEs is MATE, which is a direct fork of GNOME 2 iirc (possibly with some elements from 3, I don't remember); more recently they've been pushing toward making their own DE entirely, though, called Cinnamon. It's supposed to have the same "traditional desktop" feel of GNOME 2 but is based on 3 (and has some of its features like the hot corners) and has more of an aesthetic update. It's nice and has a growing number of extensions, but since it's still very early going it is prone to a lot of weird foibles and bugs and such from time to time. Cinnamon isn't quite ready to compete with more mature environments, no, but it might be worth installing alongside your main DE and playing with, see how it develops. I actually have it installed alongside Unity for that reason, but I keep forgetting it's there and so haven't tried it on Ubuntu proper yet. Not bad on my netbook aside from a couple of issues, though.

EDIT: As for the Firefox and Chrome thing... my opinion on those is largely what it is for OSes. They both do certain things well enough that I'm hard-presesed to find a reason to fanboy/rabidly hate one over the other. I do have a distinct preference for Firefox, mostly due to some of its extensions and a newfound love for Panorama/Tab Candy, but I can generally use Chrome just fine and will hop back and forth between them whenever one starts bugging me and I'm too annoyed to fix it at the moment. :P


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## Phantom (Mar 9, 2013)

I'm in the 'whatever came on the compter' person too. Right now my desktop is running Windows 7. It's not that bad at all, at least it's better than Vista was. 

My friends all swear by Ubuntu. Though one of them has a laptop with Windows 8 and I absolutely hates it, and I'm pretty sure it hates me.


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## Abwayax (Mar 14, 2013)

Mewtini said:


> You could just use all Ubuntu releases pre-Maverick (pre-11.04. or .10? I forget. D:) They all use GNOME 2.


Thanks, but I use Trisquel as a matter of principle (Also, those ancient Ubuntu versions are ancient, and I don't see the need to restrict myself to ancient software just to have a sane desktop environment).

Speaking of which, Trisquel 6.0 LTS (based on Ubuntu Precise) was just released so I am in the middle of upgrading my computers to that.


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